Glossika Review

Sunday, March 26th

2023 Hebrew Lesson Reviews

Glossika

• Personalized content for beginners to advanced learners in 60 languages
• Hebrew lessons contain 6600+ sentences, 2500+ words, ranging from A1-C1 levels
• 7-day free trial
• Month-to-month subscriptions can be cancelled anytime
• Annual plan comes with a 60-day prorated refund policy
• Can use many languages other than English as your native/" starting" language

Ever heard of a language platform that's AI-powered? That's Glossika. Designed to help you speak "better and faster in the shortest time possible" , these Hebrew lessons prioritize full-sentence practice through personalized sequences of instruction based on your learning patterns over time.

Can learn Hebrew from almost any source language

If English is not your first language, some Hebrew lessons may be even more challenging - because they assume you're starting from English as you learn. Not so with Glossika: when you set up your account, you can choose from a long list of "source languages" . Whether your first language is Czech or Thai, or maybe you want to make use of a second language like Spanish or Russian as your platform for learning Hebrew, you can do that through Glossika.

Can start as a beginner or more experienced student

You can also set your level as "complete beginner" or "I've already learned some" , so that the platform can begin to customize your learning path. There's a placement test you can take too: you'll play a recording of several sentences in Hebrew and choose the right translation; we got all of the answers right and were placed at an Upper-Intermediate (B2) level; keep that in mind if you're an even more advanced learner, because you might still have to start with a few things you already know.

Listening Only or Full Practice learning modes

Glossika places strong emphasis on learning complete sentences through repetition. You can get exposure to the written materials if you choose "Full Practice" mode, or you can go with "Listening Only" . Full Practice lets you listen, speak, read and write in Hebrew - and you can type the Latin alphabet approximation until you learn the Hebrew alphabet (and how to use a keyboard to type it!).

Watch the demo before you start

Glossika can be very confusing, especially to brand-new Hebrew learners. We strongly recommend that you watch the demo guide video before you start: otherwise, Glossika just jumps right in and gives you the first five sentences to learn and you're probably going to feel lost! You'll find that under the Resources tab at the top of the page (and you'll get a link to it in your confirmation email, once you've verified your account).

Not the most user-friendly format

Even using the guide, we still felt frustrated with trying to use the Glossika interface. It allows you to record your speech, but it's up to you to play it back and see how it compares: there's no automatic speech recognition here. Is a brand-new language learner the best judge of how close their spoken Hebrew matches a native speaker's?

Plenty of material included

How much content can you expect with Glossika's Hebrew lessons? You'll learn 6600+ sentences with a total of 2500+ vocabulary words, which will put you anywhere from an A1 to C1 level in proficiency. (In case you aren't familiar, those levels are heavily used in Europe as an indicator of fluency: A1 is an absolute beginner, while C1 is considered proficient. There's only one level higher, C2, and it indicates native-like mastery.) If you've got a particular set of vocabulary themes you want to focus on (or any you want to avoid), go to the Topics tab and select/deselect what you prefer. For example, if you don't want any sentences about Finance, or you only want the ones related to Banking and not Investment or Retirement, you can get that granular with the themes presented by Glossika for your learning.

Costs

• 7 day free trial
• $30 for a month-to-month membership
• $24.99/month for a one-year membership (billed annually, not monthly)
• $13.50/month if you can validate your student status

Memberships include every Glossika language

Glossika offers a full-access free trial for 7 days. All you have to do is sign up, no credit card required and no obligation. Put Glossika to the test and see if it's a good match for how you want to learn Hebrew. And, by the way, your subscription includes every language on the Glossika platform. That's part of why it's a little more expensive than some Hebrew lessons, from $24.99 to $30 per month (based on whether you pay annually or monthly). But, if you're a student and can verify your enrollment, you can get Glossika for just $13.50/month.

Limited refunds

There's a limited refund policy on these Hebrew lessons. If you're paying month-to-month, you can cancel at any time and not be charged for future months. Or, if you've purchased an annual subscription, you've got 60 days to request a refund - but it'll only be the prorated amount for the 10-11 months remaining on the plan.

Working to preserve lesser-known languages

As an aside, Glossika is one of just two language platforms we evaluated that is actively working on language preservation. But, unlike their rival, Glossika actually gives you access to those lessons for free. At the time of this review, those languages included Catalan, Manx (UK), Welsh (UK), Kurdish (Iraq), Taiwanese Hokkien (Taiwan), Hakka (Taiwan), Wenzhounese (China), and Gaelic (Scotland).

Worth a try

Glossika is interesting, we'll give it that. And if you want to start out your Hebrew lessons at a more advanced level than a beginner, this platform lets you do it. But, these Hebrew lessons are pricey and not the most comfortable learning mode particularly for new students. If you've got the time and the money, and you really like learning whole sentences with strong emphasis on listening skills, give Glossika's free trial a go. However, we think a lot of people will find Glossika's rivals to be an easier learning experience while still producing improved fluency in Hebrew.